@eonfifty I never would have even considered that “power” = battery life. Which probably says more about my priorities in a laptop then it does anything else.
I am actually looking for a laptop right now and my two biggest needs are dedicated graphics (for vidya games) and a price under $700. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
@Dweezle I’ve never been an Apple guy, but few years ago I bought a 2008 MacBook Pro for about $300 at auction to resell, but I was so impressed I sold my 2013 Dell instead. I still do not think they’re worth the asking price, but I totally get the appeal.
I don’t think I’ve ever bought a laptop. All of mine have either been hand-me-downs from my technophile dad, or refurbished rescues from the junk pile at work.
Build quality and serviceability. That pretty much limits me to buying business-class laptops. If you get a refurb at the Dell or Lenovo outlets, they aren’t too much more than comparable consumer-grade laptops.
Late model MacBooks have the crappiest keyboards I’ve ever used. I’m on my second one (for work) and both of them have see-thru keys on A, S, D, E, C, O, and L where the lettering has rubbed completely thru and I can see into the guts of the key.
My “personal machine” is an old 2012 Macbook, which has the last of the “good” Apple keyboards and I guess I’ll have to use until the grave.
I don’t know why manufacturers crap out on keyboards on laptops; it is literally the thing you interact with the most.
The most important thing is that it runs macOS. The very close second-most important things are that it has a good keyboard, is reliable, is upgradeable, has a good screen and battery life, and has good utility, like ports and stuff.
Win10 Pro. Then RAM. Then processor. Then battery life. Then a decent keyboard and size (usually go together and are 15.4 or bigger AND are a trade-off for battery life). Then everything else.
A decent CPU, GPU, RAM and screen. The battery has to be great. I’d mainly use it for editing / some simple indie games style gaming. Maybe the occasional round of Overwatch.
I voted “power,” because that could cover CPU, GPU, and maybe RAM.
Next would be storage space.
That said, I got my mom a refurbished last-generation MacBook Air with similar specs to today’s deal. (But it was $100 less, and had a reliable keyboard.)
Cost/Specific-Laptop-Needs = Value
The the most important thing is…priced well under $994.
Price, because my laptop is a dumb terminal that just connects to other things.
Something that comes with a real OS, not some microsoft caca. Preferably also one with no windows tax (if thats still an ongoing thing).
Celeron and Pentium should be gone… 8 years ago.
@lilsrm123 I thought these were now called chromebooks wannabes.
It depends on whether “Power” refers to battery life, or processing power.
@eonfifty I never would have even considered that “power” = battery life. Which probably says more about my priorities in a laptop then it does anything else.
I’m not in the market for a laptop.
I am actually looking for a laptop right now and my two biggest needs are dedicated graphics (for vidya games) and a price under $700. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
@cpierce steal it.
Most important thing? Remembering where I parked my car, probably, and I don’t even have a car.
Storage space.
E. All of the above
Uhhhh…Not being an overpriced, underpowered piece of Macintrash is pretty high up there on the list.
@Dweezle I’ve never been an Apple guy, but few years ago I bought a 2008 MacBook Pro for about $300 at auction to resell, but I was so impressed I sold my 2013 Dell instead. I still do not think they’re worth the asking price, but I totally get the appeal.
@cpierce @Dweezle I agree. They’re perfectly fine machines. Just insanely overpriced.
That it is a phone. I don’t need a laptop.
Serviceability! Upgradeable! Enough of this disposable crap when they could make it easy to fix.
A numeric keypad. My skills are wasted on these puny keyboards.
I don’t think I’ve ever bought a laptop. All of mine have either been hand-me-downs from my technophile dad, or refurbished rescues from the junk pile at work.
How much mone y I have in my back pocket at the time.
Most important thing is it doesn’t run Mac OS.
/giphy sticking tongue out
It says Chromebook on it…
Build quality and serviceability. That pretty much limits me to buying business-class laptops. If you get a refurb at the Dell or Lenovo outlets, they aren’t too much more than comparable consumer-grade laptops.
The keyboard.
Late model MacBooks have the crappiest keyboards I’ve ever used. I’m on my second one (for work) and both of them have see-thru keys on A, S, D, E, C, O, and L where the lettering has rubbed completely thru and I can see into the guts of the key.
My “personal machine” is an old 2012 Macbook, which has the last of the “good” Apple keyboards and I guess I’ll have to use until the grave.
I don’t know why manufacturers crap out on keyboards on laptops; it is literally the thing you interact with the most.
@simssj If we save $0.25 making each keyboard, think of our profits!
All of the above plus more
the most important thing is: the OS
That it’s not a Mac.
The most important thing is that it runs macOS. The very close second-most important things are that it has a good keyboard, is reliable, is upgradeable, has a good screen and battery life, and has good utility, like ports and stuff.
Oh well, 1 out of 7 isn’t bad.
@InnocuousFarmer
Not being an Apple product.
@arielleslie For me, it’s not being a Compaq or HP.
@arielleslie @narfcake
agree with both
Win10 Pro. Then RAM. Then processor. Then battery life. Then a decent keyboard and size (usually go together and are 15.4 or bigger AND are a trade-off for battery life). Then everything else.
The most important thing to consider when buying a laptop is whether it’s a computer tower you can upgrade and customize. I haven’t found one.
@goldnectar you’re not looking hard enough.
https://www.bsicomputer.com/products/fieldgo-m9-1760
@lifftchi I wouldn’t put that on my lap
Discreet graphics and expand-ability.
A decent CPU, GPU, RAM and screen. The battery has to be great. I’d mainly use it for editing / some simple indie games style gaming. Maybe the occasional round of Overwatch.
Power cord. Does it use the same chargers I already have scattered around the house and at work?
A 17" screen. Limits the field considerably these days.
The operating system. Windows has been serious strides in the last decade, but I still despise most things about it.
Give me MacOS any day.
A dedicated graphics card
A numeric keypad.
I voted “power,” because that could cover CPU, GPU, and maybe RAM.
Next would be storage space.
That said, I got my mom a refurbished last-generation MacBook Air with similar specs to today’s deal. (But it was $100 less, and had a reliable keyboard.)